An airtight package has heretofore been used for the purpose of mounting a device, such as an LED, therein and sealing it. Such an airtight package is formed so that a container capable of mounting a device therein and a cover member for sealing the interior of the container are bonded together.
Patent Literature 1 below discloses an airtight package formed so that a glass-ceramic substrate and a glass lid are bonded through a sealing material to each other. In Patent Literature 1, a glass frit made of a low-melting-point glass is used as the sealing material. Furthermore, in Patent Literature 1, the glass-ceramic substrate and the glass lid are bonded together by firing the glass frit to melt it.
However, if in mounting a device having low thermal resistance the glass frit is fired and melted in such a manner as in Patent Literature 1, characteristics of the device may be thermally degraded by the application of heat during firing. As a method for solving this, a method is conceivable for melting the glass frit by irradiating the glass frit with laser to locally heat it.